If a family hired a $50,000 consultant to help craft their student’s application and essays to a particular college, to advise the student on everything from what activities to pursue to what to wear to his college interview, every admissions officer I’ve ever met would justifiably cry foul. They’d almost certainly recommend that the student save his money and instead […]
Read More >Back to school resolution suggestions for students
A lot of students are heading back to school today, so I'm suggesting 5 back-to-school resolutions to help you have a productive and enjoyable year. 1. Study better, not more. Most students who get the best grades actually study less than everyone else. It's not because they're smarter–they're just better studiers. So rather than resolve […]
Read More >Ask Collegewise: Is this really what college admissions has come to?
Duncan asks: I attend the parent nights at my daughter's high school, and I listen to everyone talking about the competition for college. All our friends keep bringing up the test preparation courses and private tutors and college counselors they're using. I can't help but ask, is this really what it's come to? My daughter […]
Read More >Two thoughts about work
I know two great quotes about working, one from an author, one from my dad. The best advice I got from Eric should be on a bumper sticker on every car in America: 'If it feels like work, you're working too hard.'" Christopher McDougalAuthor of Born To Run And… It's called work for a reason. […]
Read More >Don’t play the reach school lottery
Some students think that the best way to improve their chances of getting in to a highly-selective college is to apply to as many of them possible. They think that by submitting 10 or 12 or 20 applications to those schools (we call them "reaches" for everyone given that up to 90% of the applicants […]
Read More >For parents: Guidelines for emailing teachers
It should be a good thing that parents can communicate with teachers so quickly and easily over email. But I'm not sure that the introduction of email has improved the relationship between those two parties. Email is actually a terrible communication tool. All the subtle cues and tone that you can use when you speak […]
Read More >Giving the gift of undivided attention
How would you feel if you were in the middle of a conversation with someone and he or she pulled out a magazine and started reading it? You'd probably think it was rude. You'd probably be insulted. The person might as well have just said, "You are excruciatingly boring, so I'm going to do something […]
Read More >What would you do for a million dollars?
Sometimes you say you can't do something because you really can't. Other times, you're just making excuses. A good way to tell which one it is is to use the million dollar scenario. When we have a student who repeatedly misses or arrives late to meetings but always seems to have an excuse (traffic, too […]
Read More >With activities, don’t follow the crowd
I've met a lot of kids who have volunteered at hospitals. But I've only ever met one who worked as an emergency medical technician. She wrote her essay about her first night on the job when she did chest compressions in the back of a speeding ambulance on a 19 year-old motorcycle accident victim who […]
Read More >When trying too hard is a bad thing
Being impressive is a good thing. But trying too hard to be impressive usually isn't. Imagine you were on a first date with someone and he blurted out, "I've done over 200 hours of community service at the hospital. In fact, I won an award for my hard work and dedication." Sure, that's impressive. But […]
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